I’m a Saudi Dissident

For me, this is personal. The murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi has affected me deeply as a Saudi analyst/journalist living in the United States. I am heartened to see that many companies and individuals, calling for justice for Khashoggi, have canceled their attendance at the Saudi Future Investment Initiative (FII) Conference being held in Riyadh later this month. Others, however, want to forge ahead as if nothing has happened. One of them is U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, who has decided that the brutal murder of a journalist like me isn’t enough of a reason to withdraw from the conference. Even Senator Marco Rubio has urged the Secretary to skip the trip.

I have sacrificed a great deal by becoming a vocal opponent of the Saudi regime, and so has my family back home. To see the government in my new home of the United States refuse to take a strong stand against such a grotesque violation of human rights and international law is unsettling and outrageous. Sending a US representative like Mnuchin to talk about investments in Saudi Arabia right now is simply unacceptable.

The Saudi monarchy must be held accountable by cutting arms sales, imposing sanctions and withdrawing support for the kingdom. An easy first step is to boycott this upcoming investment conference.

Towards justice for Jamal Khashoggi,

Ali AlAhmed, Saudi reporter/analyst/dissident

P.S. Sign up now to join our one-day Peace with Iran summit December 1, in Washington, D.C. And if you are interested in joining our Peace Delegation to Iran on January 12-20, contact lily@codepink.org.